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Is ‘skinny’ the new ‘sexy’?

I have just returned from the hospital after visiting someone very dear, who had nineteen kilos of fat sucked out of her body! “What the hell were you thinking? Anything could have happened to you,” I screamed. She just stared at the sea outside her window. No answer. Just a blank look on her face. Her body was bandaged from head to toe as she lay under the white starched sheets, tubes and pipes peeping out from everywhere! I don’t know whether it was the fear and shock of what she had done, or the faint stench of spirit and blood that was making me nauseous. How could she go and check herself into the hospital and go through such a major surgery without telling anyone? Had she lost her marbles? She was a wife and a mother, how irresponsible! All these thoughts were coming to me as I tried to come to terms with what had happened.

“I had to”, she said finally, once I had stopped hyperventilating. Her eyes were still looking at the waves rising up and down, faraway. “I couldn’t live like that anymore. My hubby was disgusted, and never wanted to be intimate. “I’m too tired”, he would say turning away, every time I went close to him. The kids were embarrassed and did not want me to come to school. “Why can’t you be like the other pretty mummies?,” they would ask. A tear rolled down her face and she quickly brushed it aside. “But now they will all love me,” she said smiling. “The hot new skinny me”! I didn’t know what to say, so I gave her a peck on the cheek and left.

As I sipped on my chai, sitting on my couch, I tried to calm down and make sense of the situation. Maybe things are not black and white all the time. People have to deal with grey areas as well. Was I being too judgemental about her actions? How do I know what she went through? She did look upset the last few times I met her. She had told me that she was trying desperately to loose weight but it wouldn’t bugde! She was obviously miserable with her body and did this as a radical last resort. Can she be ‘blamed’? Or was she just trying to be happy again.

I was lost in my thoughts when my ‘tween girl’ came bouncing in. “Mom I think you should talk to Ryna’s mother,” she said looking worried. “What for?,” I asked assuming she had some group assignment. “She hasn’t been coming to school since the boys teased her last week! They called her “fatso, elephant, jumbo jet, and all other mean things! She was sobbing so much,” she said. I immediately called her mother, and asked if Ryna was okay. “She has suddenly become very quiet, and gone into a shell. She refuses to go to school, and is not eating well,” her mother said anxiously. “I have been trying to ask her why and she doesn’t reply.” I then explained to her what had happened in school. “Oh no! How dare they! I will complain,” she said agitated. She thanked me for informing her and hung up. Can the boys be ‘blamed’? Or are they just programmed to think that being fat is something to ridicule and laugh at.

So then WHO is to be blamed? Why has this prototype of being wafer-thin become synonymous with being good-looking or attractive or beautiful? Are we just blindly following the West? The truth is the world is becoming obsessed with weight. I must confess to some extent so am I. From young children, like Ryna, to older people like my dear one in the hospital, this phenomenon is creating an adverse impact. What if our child becomes anorexic or bulimic tomorrow? Will we realise then?

Of course it is crucial for everyone to exercise, eat healthy and be fit! That’s a priority for a disease free and peaceful life. But that is not the same as doing ‘anything’ it takes to become stick thin! People nowadays do countless starvation diets, laser beams, fat breaking massages, oral medications,hormonal injections,etc!! What about the side effects of these quick fixes? Is it worth it? Don’t you think we need to change this dangerous image of ‘skinny’ being the new ‘sexy’? Hmmmm.

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

Author

A first time author, Shweta Sehgal has a sudden desire to 'connect' with the world through her thoughts and experiences. A post graduate from the London School of Economics she is intellectual, intense, and interesting. She blogs about 'everyday life' in the city... from kids to karwachauth... emotions to exercise... mothers-in-law to mohitos... hubbies to Herves… and takes you with her through the 'chaos and charm' of it all! ShweShwe will add that 'chutzpah' to your day while you curl up on the couch with your 'chai'!

A first time author, Shweta Sehgal has a sudden desire to 'connect' with the world through her thoughts and experiences. A post graduate from the London Sch. . .

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Author

A first time author, Shweta Sehgal has a sudden desire to 'connect' with the world through her thoughts and experiences. A post graduate from the London School of Economics she is intellectual, intense, and interesting. She blogs about 'everyday life' in the city... from kids to karwachauth... emotions to exercise... mothers-in-law to mohitos... hubbies to Herves… and takes you with her through the 'chaos and charm' of it all! ShweShwe will add that 'chutzpah' to your day while you curl up on the couch with your 'chai'!

A first time author, Shweta Sehgal has a sudden desire to 'connect' with the world through her thoughts and experiences. A post graduate from the London Sch. . .